The present invention relates to prepared and packaged food products, and in particular to economical, high speed methods of producing such products. According to the invention, rice and in some cases other cereal products are produced that have selected flavors infused directly into the cereal grains, and the grains are agglomerated into predetermined shapes, preferably shapes permitting accurate portion control.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the volume of so-called convenience foods marketed by various manufacturers. While with certain foods products, the concept of a xe2x80x9cconveniencexe2x80x9d food has come to have a pejorative connotation, implying that such products are inferior to counterpart foods prepared by ordinary methods, this is not always true. It is also sometimes accepted that convenience foods are characterized by increased cost without any counterpart benefit.
However, it is not necessary that, merely because a food product is able to be packaged for convenient preparation before consumption, such food must be of lower quality than a food prepared by other, more elaborate or painstaking methods. Clearly, the requirement for convenience foods arises from attempts to satisfy the time urgency that is common today. Moreover, considerations of economy incident to small volume uses of food has created a significant demand for portion-controlled food products. Where small portions of food can be made to provide both nutritional satisfaction and flavor variety, consumers purchasing such foods can be freed from the obligation to buy larger-than-desired quantities of the necessary ingredients in order to enjoy a product with a variety of constituent flavors and ingredients.
Another aspect of the adverse connotation of convenience foods has arisen because, where quality is satisfactory or even excellent, such foods cost much more than would appear necessary. Where prices are low, there may have been a substitution of lower quality, more bland, or synthetic materials or flavors in place of natural ingredients. In other cases, the preparation methods result in the degradation of flavors and textures of even high quality, natural products.
One reason for the high cost of preparing convenience foods has been the cost associated with manufacture, i.e., such manufacturing steps are highly time-consuming or require elaborate, expensive equipment, or both. In addition, the need to preserve flavors has sometimes created the requirements for tightly sealed, multi-layer packaging which is so expensive as often to rival the cost of the ingredients themselves.
In view of the failure of the prior art to provide reasonably priced, high quality convenience foods that are economical and yet provide flavor and texture sensations equal to those of non-convenience foods, it is an object of the invention to provide novel methods for preparing convenience foods.
Another object of the invention is to provide novel food products wherein soluble flavors are pre-infused into cereal grains comprising a main portion of the product, thus measurably reducing ingredient cooking times.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method of preparing convenience foods wherein the ingredients include rice or other cereals, pasta and a wide variety of flavoring ingredients, including herbs, spices, vegetables, etc.
A further object of the invention is to provide a rice- or other cereal-containing product wherein the flavors are literally infused into unpuffed cereal grains and wherein subsequently required cooking time is measurably reduced in comparison with foods made by other processes.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing portion-controlled products to provide increased convenience and reduced cost for the user.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a cereal-containing product wherein the flavors are infused from an almost dry condition into the interior of the grains of the rice, other cereal, or pasta, all without extended cooking, or in some cases without real cooking at all.
Another object of the invention is to utilize ultrasonic energy as a means of infusing powdered or other soluble flavors directly into kernels of rice or like food constituents.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method of providing convenience foods wherein dried flavors in powdered form as will as particulate vegetable, meat or other ingredients are mixed with rice or other cereal and wherein the flavors are thereafter infused into the cereal grains that are agglomerated by using ultrasonic energy, while the particulate products utilize the ultrasonic energy to become bonded to or agglomerated with adjacent cereal grains.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method which includes the steps of agglomerating rice kernels or like grains into a desired shape at the same time that such grains are infused with various flavors, particularly soluble flavors.
A still further object is to provide a single-step method wherein shaping and forming portion-controlled products can be achieved using ultrasonic energy not only to infuse powdered or dried soluble flavors but also to gelatinize grains sufficiently that they will remain adhered to one another in a desired characteristic shape.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a method wherein a mass of grains may be infused with a flavor, agglomerated and formed into a desired shape within a small fraction of a second.
Another object of the invention is to provide a mass production, high speed method of making convenience food products which can be flow-wrapped as an incident to production.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus wherein rice or other cereal grains are thoroughly mixed with dried, powdered flavoring ingredients, wherein the mix is dampened with atomized water and fed to a cavity wherein an ultrasonically energized product-forming tool compresses and imparts energy to the grains confined to the cavity, causing the flavors to be infused into the grains and the grains to be agglomerated into shapes resulting from the cooperative action of the forming tool and the cavity.
A further object of the invention is to provide a low-cost, relatively simple manufacturing apparatus which includes an ultrasonically energized forming tool, cavity forming surfaces and a material feeding portion including means for mixing and measuring predetermined quantities of cereal and flavoring materials dispensed into the forming cavity.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention are achieved in practice by a method which includes blending dry flavors with grains of rice or other cereal including pastas, slightly moistening the mix to insure that the surfaces of the elements to be agglomerated are properly moisturized, depositing controlled portions of the ingredient into a confined area and utilizing an ultrasonically energized forming tool to confine the grains, flavors and moisture to form a unitary, flavor-infused, agglomerated food product.
The invention also achieves its object by providing a product made by the foregoing method, with the product being characterized by the presence or absence of additional particulate ingredients such as meat, vegetables or other foods. The invention achieves these and other inherent objects using parboiled rice, puffed cereals, or other suitable ingredients, in some cases also including bits of vegetables, meat, spices or other ingredients.
The exact manner in which the foregoing and other objects and advantages are achieved in practice will become more apparent when reference is made to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention set forth by way of example and shown in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers indicate corresponding parts throughout.